Review Summary

“The Orphanage,” a diverting, overwrought ghost story from Spain, relies on basic and durable horror movie techniques. Give a competent director a gliding camera, creepy music and a dim hallway lined with doors, and a decent scare is likely to follow. No matter how many times you have seen similar tricks, the sudden apparition of a child at the end of that hall — especially a child in a weird, anachronistic costume — is likely to make you jump a little in your seat. So when a distraught Laura (Belén Rueda) stumbles down the corridor and comes face to face with a boy whose shorts and knee socks are accessorized by a burlap sack covering his face, you are likely to be nearly as terrified as she is. Even though “The Orphanage” is Juan Antonio Bayona’s first feature film, there is no doubting his skill. But like his patron Guillermo del Toro (who is both producer and “presenter” of this movie), Mr. Bayona is interested in using the horror genre to explore emotions beyond mere fright. Though there are plenty of sudden jolts and eerie atmospherics, “The Orphanage” is ultimately concerned with grief, remorse and maternal longing. — A. O. Scott